Family Law · Florida

Child Custody in Florida: Parental Responsibility, Time-Sharing, and How to Modify a Custody Order

Florida no longer uses the word “custody.” Knowing what the law actually says — and what the court’s own forms still get wrong — is the difference between a clean filing and a dismissed case.

Florida Statutes Chapter 61  |  Updated for the July 1, 2023 equal time-sharing law (HB 1301)

Why Florida Doesn’t Say “Custody” Anymore

Most people walk into this expecting a fight over “custody.” Florida law retired that word years ago. The statutes deliberately avoid “custody” and “visitation” because lawmakers wanted to move away from the idea that one parent “wins” the child and the other gets relegated to a visitor.

Instead, Florida law (Fla. Stat. § 61.13) breaks the old concept of custody into three working parts:

• Parental responsibility — the authority to make major decisions about the child (education, non-emergency healthcare, religion, and so on).
• Time-sharing — the schedule that sets out when the child is physically with each parent. This is what most people mean when they say “custody” or “visitation.”
• The Parenting Plan — the written document, approved or ordered by the court, that combines both of the above into one governing order.

This isn’t just word-swapping. Because the law treats decision-making and the physical schedule as separate questions, a parent can have an equal say in major decisions while the child lives primarily with the other parent — or the reverse. Understanding that split is the foundation for everything below.

Parental Responsibility: Who Decides

Florida law strongly favors shared parental responsibility, meaning both parents retain full rights and responsibilities and must confer on major decisions affecting the child’s welfare. A court must order shared parental responsibility unless it finds that doing so would be detrimental to the child § 61.13(2)(c)2.

There are three common arrangements:

• Shared parental responsibility — both parents jointly make major decisions. This is the default.
• Shared parental responsibility with decision-making authority to one parent — parents share in general, but the court gives one parent the final say over a specific area (often healthcare or education) when they cannot agree.
• Sole parental responsibility — one parent makes major decisions alone. Reserved for situations where shared decision-making would harm the child, such as documented abuse, abandonment, or neglect.

A history of domestic violence is a major factor. A parent convicted of a first-degree misdemeanor or higher act of domestic violence creates a rebuttable presumption of detriment to the child, which directly affects whether responsibility can be shared.

Time-Sharing and the 50/50 Presumption

This is the part of Florida law that changed most recently, and it matters enormously.

“Rebuttable” is the key word. The 50/50 schedule is where the judge begins, not necessarily where the case ends. A parent who believes equal time-sharing is wrong for their child carries the burden of proving it. Specifically, that parent must show, by a preponderance of the evidence (more likely than not), that equal time-sharing is not in the child’s best interest.

If the presumption is successfully rebutted, the court then crafts a different schedule — 60/40, 70/30, or in rare and serious cases, a schedule that sharply limits one parent’s time — based on the best-interest factors below.

The Best-Interest Factors

Whether the court is setting up the original schedule or deciding a modification, the lodestar is always the same: the best interests of the child. The court must evaluate the factors listed in § 61.13(3) and, under the 2023 law, must put its reasoning in writing. Those factors include, among others:

• Each parent’s capacity and willingness to facilitate a close relationship between the child and the other parent, and to honor the time-sharing schedule.
• The division of parental responsibilities, including the extent to which they were delegated to third parties.
• The capacity of each parent to maintain a consistent routine — discipline, homework, meals, bedtime.
• The moral fitness and the mental and physical health of each parent.
• The home, school, and community record of the child, and the reasonable preference of the child if the court deems the child mature enough.
• Evidence of domestic violence, sexual violence, child abuse, abandonment, or neglect — regardless of whether a prior action resulted in a conviction.
• The developmental needs of the child and each parent’s demonstrated knowledge of those needs.

No single factor is automatically decisive. Judges weigh the whole picture, and the written-findings requirement means a parent who comes to court organized around these specific factors is far more persuasive than one who simply argues that they are the “better parent.”

The Parenting Plan Requirement

Every Florida case involving time-sharing must result in a Parenting Plan § 61.13(2)(b). If the parents agree, they submit a plan together for the court to approve. If they don’t agree, each can propose a plan and the judge will establish one.

At minimum, a Parenting Plan must:

• Describe in detail how the parents will share the daily tasks of raising the child;
• Include the time-sharing schedule that specifies the time the child spends with each parent (including holidays, school breaks, and summers);
• Designate who is responsible for healthcare, school-related matters, and other activities; and
• Describe the methods and technologies the parents will use to communicate with the child.

The standard form is Parenting Plan, Form 12.995(a). A Supervised/Safety-Focused Parenting Plan, Form 12.995(b), is used where supervision or safety restrictions are appropriate.

Modifying a Custody Order

A Parenting Plan is not permanent, but Florida deliberately makes it hard to change. Courts value stability for children and do not want parents relitigating the schedule every time life shifts slightly. To modify parental responsibility or the time-sharing schedule, you must prove two things:

1. A substantial and material change in circumstances that has occurred since the last order; and
2. That the requested modification is in the best interest of the child.

What counts as a substantial and material change is decided case by case, but common examples include:

• A parent repeatedly violating the existing time-sharing schedule;
• A significant change in a parent’s work schedule, health, or living situation;
• Evidence of a new safety concern — substance abuse, neglect, or exposure to violence;
• A planned relocation that affects the schedule.

Court Forms for Modification of Child Custody

Modifications are filed in the circuit court of the county where the original order or final judgment was entered, as a “supplemental” petition in the existing case. Below are the Florida Supreme Court Approved Family Law Forms most commonly required. Always pull the current version directly from the official Florida Courts forms library — the forms are periodically revised.

How to File a Modification, Step by Step

1. Confirm you have a substantial, material change. Be honest with yourself here. A vague feeling that the schedule is unfair is not enough; courts dismiss petitions that don’t clear this threshold. Write down specifically what changed and when.
2. Complete Form 12.905(a) and your proposed Parenting Plan (12.995(a)). File in the county where your original order was entered. Forms must be typed or printed in black ink and signed before a notary or deputy clerk.
3. File with the Clerk of Court and pay the filing fee (or file for civil indigent status if you cannot afford it). Bring or upload copies.
4. Serve the other parent. The other parent must be formally served (usually by sheriff or a certified process server using the Summons, Form 12.910(a)). You cannot simply hand them the papers yourself.
5. Wait for the response. After personal service, the other parent has 20 days to file an answer. If they don’t, you may be able to move for a default.
6. Complete mandatory disclosure and any parenting course if financial issues are involved or the court requires it.
7. Attend mediation and/or the final hearing. Many circuits require mediation first. At the hearing, you present evidence on both the substantial change and the child’s best interest.
8. Submit the proposed Supplemental Final Judgment (12.993(a)) for the judge to sign if the modification is granted.

Frequently Asked Questions